Section § 10560

Explanation

This law says that if there are valid reasons, the license of someone working with minerals, oil, or gas can be taken away or put on hold. This decision will happen through a hearing process detailed in this section.

Upon grounds provided in this article and the other articles of this chapter, the license of any mineral, oil and gas licensee may be revoked or suspended in accordance with the provisions of this part relating to hearings.

Section § 10561

Explanation

This law states that the commissioner can investigate and potentially suspend or revoke a mineral, oil, and gas license if the licensee is involved in certain misconduct. Misconduct includes making significant false claims, breaking promises to influence others, working for multiple parties without their consent, mixing personal and client funds, demanding fees without clear end dates, hiding extra profits, using options to buy without disclosing profits, and any fraudulent or dishonest actions.

The commissioner may, upon his or her own motion, and shall, upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, within this state, and he or she may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke a mineral, oil, and gas license at any time if the licensee, while a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts within the scope of this chapter, has been guilty of any of the following:
(a)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(a) Making any substantial misrepresentation.
(b)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(b) Making any false promises of a character likely to influence, persuade, or induce.
(c)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(c) Acting for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge or consent of all parties thereto.
(d)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(d) Commingling with his or her own money or property the money or property of others that is received and held by him or her.
(e)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(e) Claiming or demanding a fee, compensation, or commission under any exclusive agreement authorizing or employing a licensee to sell, buy, or exchange mineral, oil, or gas property for compensation, or commission where that agreement does not contain a definite, specified date of final and complete termination.
(f)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(f) Claiming or taking by a licensee of any secret or undisclosed amount of compensation, commission, or profit, or the failure of a licensee to reveal to the employer of such licensee the full amount of the licensee’s compensation, commission, or profit under any agreement authorizing or employing the licensee to do any acts for which a license is required under this chapter for compensation or commission prior to or coincident with the signing of an agreement evidencing the meeting of the minds of the contracting parties, regardless of the form of such agreement, whether evidenced by documents in an escrow or by any other or different procedure.
(g)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(g) The use by a licensee of any provision allowing the licensee an option to purchase in an agreement authorizing or employing the licensee to sell, buy, or exchange mineral, oil, or gas property for compensation or commission, except when the licensee prior to or coincident with election to exercise the option to purchase reveals in writing to the employer the full amount of the licensee’s profit and obtains the written consent of the employer approving the amount of that profit.
(h)CA Business & Professions Code § 10561(h) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or dishonest dealing.

Section § 10562

Explanation

This law gives the commissioner the authority to suspend or cancel the license of anyone dealing with mineral, oil, and gas properties if they engage in certain prohibited actions. These include being convicted of serious crimes related to their work, spreading false information about their business, violating real estate laws, acting in a way that would deny them a license, wrongfully using specific professional titles, demonstrating incompetence, misusing private information from their government job, or engaging in any fraudulent or dishonest conduct.

The commissioner may suspend or revoke the license of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee who has done any of the following:
(a)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(a) Entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, or been convicted of, a felony, or a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, and the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, irrespective of an order granting probation following that conviction, suspending the imposition of sentence, or of a subsequent order under the provision of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing the licensee to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation or information.
(b)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(b) Knowingly authorized, directed, connived at or aided in the publication, advertisement, distribution, or circulation of a material false statement or representation concerning his or her business or a mineral, oil, or gas property offered for sale.
(c)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(c) Willfully disregarded or violated any of the provisions of the Real Estate Law (commencing with Section 10000) or of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11000) of Part 2 or of the rules and regulations of the commissioner for the administration and enforcement of the Real Estate Law and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11000) of Part 2.
(d)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(d) Acted or conducted himself or herself in a manner which would have warranted the denial of his or her application for a mineral, oil, and gas license.
(e)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(e) Willfully used the term “realtor” or a trade name or insigne of membership in a real estate organization of which the licensee is not a member.
(f)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(f) Demonstrated negligence or incompetence in performing an act for which he or she is required to hold a license.
(g)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(g) Has used his or her employment by a governmental agency in a capacity giving access to records, other than public records, in a manner that violates the confidential nature of the records.
(h)CA Business & Professions Code § 10562(h) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or dishonest dealing.

Section § 10562.5

Explanation

If a person with a mineral, oil, and gas license is found guilty of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit in a transaction, their license could be suspended or taken away by the commissioner. This happens after a formal hearing.

When a final judgment is obtained in a civil action against any mineral, oil and gas licensee upon grounds of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit with reference to any transaction for which a license is required under this division, the commissioner may, after hearing in accordance with the provisions of this part relating to hearings, suspend or revoke the license of such mineral, oil and gas licensee.

Section § 10564

Explanation

The commissioner has the power to suspend or take away the license related to minerals, oil, and gas from a company's officer or agent, without affecting the company's overall license.

The commissioner may suspend or revoke the mineral, oil, and gas license of a corporation as to any officer or agent acting under its mineral, oil, and gas license, without revoking the mineral, oil, and gas license of the corporation.